The murmurings ceased instantly, and everyone followed the sound to look at the carriage.
A pair of fair, slender fingers gently lifted the carriage curtain, and a young girl poked her head out.
She had a head of thick, raven - black hair. A single pearl hairpin adorned her round bun. Beneath her neatly trimmed bangs were a pair of inky black eyes. Her small, palm - sized face showed a calm expression.
She casually put on the hat of her fiery red fox fur cloak. Only then did everyone notice that it had started to snow heavily at some point.
The girl stepped down from the carriage. Standing in the vast expanse of snow in her fiery red clothes, she was so eye - catching that everyone held their breath for a moment.
"Zheng'er!"
"Miss!"
"Sister!"
"Zheng'er... Why have you come back?" Bai Di's eyes were full of surprise. Different from Mrs. Lin and the others, there was not a trace of joy in her surprise.
"Thanks to Second Sister, I've returned safely," Bai Zheng's gaze lingered on Bai Di's face for just a moment. It was as if she were looking at an ordinary object without any emotion, and then she immediately turned to wipe the tears from Mrs. Lin's side.
"What's your attitude!" Chu Feng was enraged by Bai Zheng's nonchalant manner. From the moment she appeared until now, this girl who used to be like a shadow had not even given him a proper look.
"Bai Zheng, do you have any conscience? Since we heard you had an accident, Di'er has been praying for you by eating a vegetarian diet every day. Di'er is magnanimous and doesn't care about you, yet you're so ungrateful!"
Bai Zheng raised her eyebrows. "Di'er? I wonder what your relationship is with my Second Sister. You don't even address her as Miss Bai the Second but call her by her given name directly? What were you just saying about me, Young Master Chu? That I, Bai Zheng, am talentless, virtueless, and lack propriety? But I wonder how this talented, virtuous, and proper Young Master Chu knows that my Second Sister, who never steps out of the inner courtyard, has been praying for me by eating a vegetarian diet every day?"
Chu Feng was so choked that his face turned red. Looking at Bai Di beside him, who was blushing and at a loss, he was even more furious. "Bai Zheng! I've told you many times that in my eyes, there's no place for you. I only have feelings for your Second Sister! Although we haven't set a marriage contract, we have mutual feelings. You should give up!"
"What a beautiful mutual affection! Chu Feng, you, a man engaged to me, have publicly slandered my unmarried Second Sister, saying that she has a secret liaison with you. What's your intention! You may not care about your reputation, but my Second Sister and my Bai family do!"
Secret liaison?
Bai Di's face instantly turned as white as a sheet. She looked at the sharp - tongued girl in disbelief, the words she said so aggressive.
Was this still that timid and stupid younger sister?
Chu Feng was also greatly shocked by the phrase "secret liaison".
It was clearly a legitimate mutual affection. In Yongding, where the social customs were not overly conservative, this was not something to be ashamed of. How could Bai Zheng simply say it was a "secret liaison"? She was so bold to even think of such a thing.
Chu Feng replied quickly on the spur of the moment. "Don't judge a gentleman's heart with a villain's mind. I'm innocent with your Second Sister. A gentleman desires a fair lady. Everyone can see clearly who is more outstanding between you and Second Miss Bai. Should I marry you, a talentless, plain - looking girl who has lost her virtue?"
Everyone looked at Second Miss Bai in her warm purple cloak. She had delicate, slender willow - leaf eyebrows, long and slightly curled eyelashes, and a pair of almond - shaped eyes that were so charming. Her fair and flawless skin showed a faint blush. She was truly beautiful.
Bai Zheng's appearance just now had also amazed everyone present. Although she was not as beautiful as her second sister up close, she was still a refined and elegant beauty.
However... A young lady from a noble family who had been missing for seven or eight days after being attacked by villains was surely no longer a chaste woman.
Before everyone could even sigh, they heard Bai Zheng speak again. "I don't understand what you mean, Young Master Chu. What do you mean I've lost my virtue? I just went to visit my maternal grandmother in Ningcheng for a few days. How come my reputation has been ruined by you as soon as I come back?"
"Visit your maternal grandmother? You're lying! You clearly disappeared after the night banquet in the prince's mansion that day. You were attacked by villains on your way back alone!"
"Attacked by villains? Oh, I'm impressed by your imagination, Young Master Chu. My maternal grandmother suffers from severe back and waist pain at this time every year. Coincidentally, I got a medicinal herb after the banquet that day, so I rushed to send it to her. Thank you all for your concern."
"What, Young Master Chu doesn't seem to believe me? Are you eager for me to lose my virtue so that you can break off the engagement and live happily ever after with my Second Sister?"